The pilot reported that he was landing at a non-towered airport in Onaway, Mich., at night to drop off a passenger. During the landing flare just prior to touchdown, he saw three deer run onto the runway out of his periphery.
One of the deer ran on to the runway and was hit by the Cessna 310R’s left main landing gear.
The collision folded the left main gear aft and the left wing hit the runway as the airplane touched down.
The airplane slid down the runway and veered off the left side of the runway before coming to rest.Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the left wing and aileron.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as an inadvertent collision with a deer during landing.
NTSB Identification: CEN14CA026
This October 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Hopefully he had already dragged the runway prior to setting up the final approach for landing. I have seen cows and other animals moving around runways both paved and sod, too. One has to be very aware of where your at in the remote areas.